


The Hidden Will

by MagiLiv



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-23 06:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4867040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagiLiv/pseuds/MagiLiv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What seems like to be a normal A-rank mission to escort a VIP back to his homeland turns out to be much more. Minds will be changed and hearts will be altered. Two shinobi, destined to be together or destined to die tragically? Nothing is what it seems to be anymore. Will they all be able to pull through the lies together as a team or fall apart alone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just By Chance

The Land of Fire was sweeping with joy. You would have thought that since the destruction of their home occurred they would be in a big hole of despair and hate. Maybe some even wished for vengeance for their now destroyed village. But no, it was nothing like that. Not a single person had one bad thought in their body. They took in the destruction of their home, were upset for a while, but when they realized their loved ones still remained, they got over it and instead looked forward to the building and the future of their village. The Will of Fire burned deeper in their hearts then never before.

The civilians of Konohagakure were all running about through the village, every person doing one thing or the other. Everything was for the rebuilding of their village and no one complained about it. Even the little children and older citizens were doing their share of help, whether it was running to get the construction workers a drink, or even just cleaning up the streets.

For a while now, though, the streets had been silent. Minus the friendly chatter and laughter among the people, there was something missing. Or more like a certain someone. Everyday that passed by was another day without Konoha's famous hero.

Naruto Uzumaki.

It had been three months and a half since the hyperactive Uzumaki ran through the village with his famous smile plastered on his face. The villagers were beginning to miss the joy the boy would radiate off his body without even trying. Though some hated to admit it, but it wasn't a day in the Hidden Leaf Village without Naruto Uzumaki running and leaping around wildly.

After Madara Uchiha declared the Fourth Great Shinobi War at the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, Tsunade had sent Naruto to Mount Myōboku to continue his sage training and fully perfect his Senjutsu. In reality though, she just needed to get the blonde boy out of her hair long enough that she could discuss strategy to protect the boy. Considering the war was mainly to protect him and the eight tails from Kumogakure, she couldn't have him insisting to be placed in the action. If Naruto had found out that they were discussing strategy, or even the war in general, he would have surely begged to be put on the battlefield to fight alongside with his comrades.

But finally the day was coming closer when Konoha's Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead would return back to the village where he was so dearly missed.

Especially by a certain Hyūga.

* * *

The sun was at its pinnacle. Not a single cloud tainted the sky with its presence. The birds were flying around and landing on branches, all while singing their joyful music and filling the breeze with their blissful notes. The wind was soft and barely swayed the flowers to its rhythm. The old members of Squad 8 were down by the river enjoying their well-deserved day off.

Akamaru and Kiba were splashing around in the water, threatening to splash the poor blue haired girl with water. She ran away squealing and begging the boy to stop chasing her but he wouldn't budge. Even the stolid shinobi, Shino, was getting a kick at watching Hinata run for dear life.

"K-Kiba-kun, p-please stop!" She begged as she ducked behind a large gray rock.

Kiba laughed and finally stopped in his tracks with Akamaru, "Aw, come on, Hinata! Don't be such a wuss. It won't kill you to get a little wet and have some fun!" After realizing the words that had come out of his mouth, he fell into the water laughing at his own perverted joke causing Hinata to blush a bright scarlet.

"T-that's not funny, Kiba-kun!" she protested.

Shino watched as his teammates had fun without him. He pushed his back off the tree he was leaning on and began to make his way towards them. When he was closer to them he said, "it seems you have forgotten about me."

Kiba stopped laughing, sat up, and stared at Shino, "Whaddaya mean we forgot about you, Shino? You're the one being the weirdo and hiding deep in the forest. If you wanted to have fun you should have joined us out in the sun, not lurking in the dark like some stalker!"

"I don't see why you only chase Hinata and try to splash her when I too am your friend and want to have fun."

Kiba backed away a little from the Aburame, "Shino… That's a bit creepy."

Hinata itched away from the rock she was hiding behind and began to watch the scene that was going on in front of her, a smile slowly growing on her pale skin.

"No, it is not creepy. Why? Because I am your friend," Shino stepped into the water to get closer to his prey. "As your friend you are to chase me and try to splash me with water as well."

Kiba stood up and backed up against the rock Hinata was hiding behind before. "Sh-Shino, you're really freaking me out." Akamaru barked in agreement as he stood next to his owner's side.

Not acknowledging his own forwardness and "creepiness", the bug handler stepped in front of his victim, finally closing the gap between the two and preventing him from escaping. "Do you favor Hinata over me?"

Kiba cringed as Shino got even closer, trying to shrink away against the rock. "A-Akamaru!" he shouted in panic. The ninken jumped up and got in between the two ninja, pushing Shino away from Kiba. The Inuzuka sighed in relief as his predator returned back on to dry land. He was safe.

Hinata began to laugh uncontrollably, holding her sides with one hand and the gray rock for support with the other. She didn't know what had over came her but seeing Kiba so frightened by Shino pressed her laugh button and she couldn't stop it. The two boys turned to look at her with a puzzled expression on their face that was soon taken over by a smile—well except Shino. He was still a bit upset that Kiba hadn't tried to splash him with water.

Seeing the blue haired girl come outside of her comfort zone and start laughing loosely could make anyone smile. Her own teammates rarely saw her act this way so they couldn't help but smile. Kiba smirked and bent down closer to the water to take advantage of the situation and splashed the distracted Hyūga in the face. Hinata stood frozen as the water soaked her to the bone. When she finally realized what fully had happened, she turned to the dog specialist."Kiba-kun!" she squealed, "That's not fair!"

Kiba bit his tongue from laughing as he watched the girl struggle to dry her jacket off. "A shinobi should never let their guard down," he said in a mocking sophisticated tone.

Hinata squeezed the ends of her jacket harder, trying to get her jacket at least a bit dry. When she finally gave up on drying off her jacket manually, she bent down and splashed the ninken specialist in the face. She puffed her cheeks, trying to sustain her laugh because of the face the boy had made when the water made impact with his body.

She failed.

Soon enough, it was an all-out splash war between Hinata and Kiba with Shino watching from the side. Hinata noticed his envy and splashed water towards him, soaking the upper part of his pants.

Kiba turned to look towards Shino and fell back in the water, rolling back and forth gripping his sides as he laughed. "Couldn't hold it any longer hey, Shino?"  
He said through laughter.

The Aburame member turned a light pink before returning to the shadows of the trees, "This isn't what I meant by letting me join."

Hinata stared after the boy feeling terrible and completely embarrassed. "Sh-Shino-kun, I'm so s-sorry!"

He lifted his hand to stop her, "It's fine, I forgive you. Why? Because you are my friend and as my friend you wanted to include me in you—"

"Are you still on that?!" Kiba interrupted.

Hinata smiled at her two teammates. It was days like these that filled her heart with warmth and happiness. Days like these which made her wish they'd never end. Though she was very happy and wouldn't trade this amazing day for anything, she felt as if something was still missing. A certain someone. A certain face that she only needed to see for a few seconds to fully make her day wonderful and perfect.

She missed him. That boy that was loud, hyper, and to some people 'annoying' though to her he was just being adorable. It had been a long while since she had seen him and she was starting to fear that she would never get to see him because of the war. There wasn't time for relationships during a war. She almost slapped herself at that thought.  _Naruto-kun doesn't even know how I feel for him and I'm thinking about relationships,_ she thought.

No one was allowed to know the whereabouts of Naruto, for security purposes, but that didn't mean it made her wonder. Only Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shizune knew where he was and what he was doing. There had even been rumors that the boy had left the village in search for Sasuke. Others said that he left the village completely. Though the one about Sasuke could have been true, she knew both of them were lies, but they still made her heart ache.

"Hinata?" Kiba stepped in front of her, waving his arms around like a monkey. "Hello, Earth to Hinata! Do you read me, Hinata?"

The fair skinned girl snapped out of her thoughts and nodded at the boy in front of her, "Y-yes, Kiba-kun?"

"I asked if you wanted to get something to eat? We're starving."

She nodded again and began to walk towards dry land before slipping and falling flat on her face in the water. This time Kiba didn't laugh. He could sense something was wrong with her and instead helped her up. "You're thinking about that knucklehead again, aren't you?"

She didn't have to answer to know he was right. Seeing Hinata get so ditsy about a boy like Naruto made his blood boil. The boy was so dense he never even acknowledged her. Hinata had her eyes set on Naruto, Naruto had his eyes set on Sakura, and Sakura was head over heels for a rogue ninja. It was a ridiculous love triangle and Kiba didn't understand it at all. All he knew was that Hinata was like a younger sister to him and he didn't want to see her get hurt, especially by a boy.

"Kakashi sensei said that Naruto would be returning somewhere next week," Shino said. Hinata lifted her head towards the boy, her eyes glinting with hope. She continued to walk alongside her friends, a small smile on her face.  _Naruto-kun will be back soon,_ she thought, trying to keep her smile under control. _He's not gone._

She was wrong.

He would be returning that day.

* * *

The stack of papers seemed never ending on the Hokage's desk. Her taste buds begged for a drink of alcohol but she knew better than to get distracted now that a war was on its way, but that didn't mean it would stop her from getting a shot. Even though Shizune would have disapproved, she needed a little sip of sake to keep her going. She was expecting a "secret" delivery of two bottles of expensive sake, what she wasn't expecting was a hyper blonde to almost break her door down.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS RETURNED!" The blonde headed shinobi shouted as he kicked open the door.

Tsunade brushed off the loudness and barely lifted her eyes from her paperwork as she spoke, "I hope you perfected your Senjutsu."

"About that, I still don't see your reason to have send me off on basically a vacation," he said walking towards her desk and placing a hand on it. "I mean really, if you've forgotten, I am the one that saved this entire village... By myself." He gave her a conceited grin which only caused the Fifth Hokage to laugh.

"Very well, Hero of Konoha, are you done bragging? I have important Hokage things to do."

"Really? You're not going to ask about the super cool powers I have now?"

She shook her head no as she continued to read the document at hand.

Naruto pouted, not satisfied with the attention he was getting. "I leave for almost four months and I return to no attention! Not even a proper welcome back!"

A vein began to grow on the Hokage's forehead, "Naruto, will you get out before I ram your head through the wall!"

He shrunk inside his clothes, "uh, right. Sure. See ya, baa-chan!" He ran out of the room before meeting death by Tsunade.

As the door slammed shut behind him, Tsunade lifted her gaze towards the door with a smile painted on her face, "Welcome back, Naruto."

* * *

Naruto walked through the streets of his home, filling his lungs with the smell of the restaurants he walked passed. Occasionally the villagers would greet him and welcome him back. All proving that he was dearly missed and making the Hero of Konoha feel even more important. He breathed in the scent of Yakiniku Q as he walked past only to have his stomach growl to alert him that he was hungry. His mouth watered as he inhaled the smell more deeply, it had been too long since he had real human food. He clutched at his stomach,  _Ichiraku or Yakiniku?_  He asked himself the most difficult question in the world.

As if to answer his question, Team 8 was making their way towards the barbecue restaurant themselves.

Naruto squinted to make out the figures that were approaching closer and waved when he recognized his comrades. "Hey, guys!" he sprinted towards the group with a wide smile on his face. Although he wouldn't admit it, he did miss his friends more than anything. Maybe even more than the food.

"Kiba, Hinata… And uh... Shino! What's—?" He stopped just a few feet ahead of them, pointing an accusing finger, "why are you guys wet?"

Shino, who had been emotionally hurt by Naruto forgetting his name—again—stepped forward in front of the Uzumaki causing him to stand tall on his toes, "You remembered Kiba-kun and Hinata-san just fine but once again you have forgotten about me."

Naruto backed up with his hands up in defense, "Sh-Shino, your creepiness is bad for my heart..."

Hinata, who had been frozen in her place, flushing red, and eyes wide open, opened her mouth to finally say something, "Sh-Shino-kun, p-please don't s-start that again."

Naruto peeped his head around Shino to stare at the stuttering girl, sending her his trademark grin, "Hinata!"

She lifted her eyes from her nervously twiddling fingers and fainted at the sight of Naruto's smile and direct approach to her. Kiba quickly moved to her side to catch her in his arms, "Damn it, Naruto! We just wanted to go eat and you just had to show up."

"I didn't know she was going to pass out!"

"There's nothing we can do about it now, let's just keep moving on to the restaurant. She will wake up soon enough," Shino said, turning his back to the others and walking towards Yakiniku Q.

Naruto turned his head back to watch the Aburame member leave them behind, "What's his problem?"

Kiba ignored him and followed Shino with Hinata in his arms, "Shino, wait up!"

"What's your problem?!" Before forgetting why he had run up to them in the first place, it hit him again. "Wait—Kiba! Can I join?"

"Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you have money!" Kiba shouted back without even turning around.

Naruto pulled out Gama-Chan and opened it to see if he had enough. Satisfied with the money that was in the bag, he ran after Kiba and Shino to join them at the barbecue restaurant.

* * *

Inside, the mouthwatering smells wafted in and out of the kitchen. The sizzling of the fresh meat came from various tables where customers leaned over their food, hungrily waiting for it to be ready to dive in. Everyone in the restaurant was grateful for the Akimichi clan. If not for them, Yakiniku Q would have never been rebuilt as fast as it was. Of course they did it willingly, but also for a free meal here and then, thus resulting in them constructing the famous restaurant in record time.

As they walked to their table, Kiba received strange looks as he carried the unconscious girl in his arms. He returned every look with a nervous smile, cursing Naruto under his breath. When they finally reached their table, he laid the sleeping girl beside him as he sat down.

They placed their order and in a matter of minutes the meat was brought to them, even though the place was swarming with people. The meat sizzled and began to let out a rich odor that infested Naruto's nose, causing his stomach to growl even louder than before. He clutched his stomach and groaned, "Could you cook any faster?!" he whined to the food.

Kiba laughed and flipped over his pieces, "Calm down. If you eat it now you'll get sick, idiot."

Naruto moved his face closer to his food, "Come on little guys, hurry up!"

Hinata stirred a little, trying to push herself away from the noise that surrounded her. All she wanted was to sleep but the noise around her — and that delicious smell—prevented her from escaping into her dreams. Her nose began to sniff upwards,  _is that meat?_ She asked herself.  _Did I fall asleep in the kitchen?_ She blinked her eyes open, realizing she wasn't in the Hyūga compound, she sat up.

Kiba, Shino, and Naruto were all starring back at her with food shoved deep in their mouths. She let out a small squeal and hid behind Kiba to hide her embarrassment from Naruto. The Inuzuka brushed off her shyness and kept eating, throwing scraps of meat to Akamaru here and there.

"Hinata, it seems you finally have woken up," Shino said matter-of-factly.

Naruto grinned at the blue haired girl, "Hey, Hinata! I bet you're starving!"

She moved away from Kiba and sat down finally acknowledging how hungry she was. She nodded and Naruto added some meat on the grill, making her blush involuntarily.

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun."

Kiba coughed loudly to draw the attention back to him, "I'm the one that kept you from falling on the ground and helped you up when you fell flat on your face in the water. Shouldn't I get a 't-thank you, K-Kiba-kun'?" he said in a terrible impression of the blushing Hyūga.

Hinata brushed off the teasing, having gotten so use to her teammate's mocking, and flipped her steaks over.

Naruto sat back, finally stuffed from all the food he had just shoved down his throat and watched his friends bicker over something so ridiculous.  _Yep, I missed this more than anything_ , he thought. He missed the joy he got from being around his friends, he missed laughing with them, but most importantly, he missed the food. After three months and a half of eating pure bugs—he gagged at the thought—he never wanted to leave Konoha. Ever.

The training was brutal and effective, and although he did strengthen his friendship with his frog friends, he missed his real friends. From Iruka Sensei to Izumo and Kotetsu, he missed them all. After all, this was the first time he really realized that he actually had such strong bonds with them all and that he was more than just some plague placed upon the village like he used to be treated as.

Naruto was pulled out of his daze by a piece of steak hitting his cheek and sliding down on to his lap. He turned to look at Kiba who was now laughing. "Hey, what's the big idea!?" he stood up wiggling the piece of meat in front of the Inuzuka just to have Akamaru lean in and eat it right out of his hands. Kiba laughed even louder.

"I had to get you out of your daze somehow!"

"Not by throwing a piece of meat at me you idiot!"

"Did you want me to throw a different piece of meat at you?"

Naruto blushed at the perverted comment and scowled back, he couldn't think of anything better to say. Kiba calmed himself down, wiping a tear from his eye, "I was asking you where you went. You disappeared for a while without letting anyone know, we thought you just up right left the village."

Hinata lowered her head, she thought that too and felt ashamed to have thought something so ridiculous. It was nothing like Naruto to do that.

"Nah, Tsunade-baachan sent me to Mount Myōboku to perfect my Senjutsu," he said in annoyance. He decided not to answer any more questions about his training and changed the subject, "Why were you all soaked?"

"We were down by the river enjoying our day off," Shino interrupted. Naruto moved uncomfortably in his seat as he spoke. "Not all of us were having fun though."

Kiba rolled his eyes, "Yes. Why? Because some of us pissed our pants," Kiba said in his best impression of the Aburame.

"Kiba-kun, you mustn't tease Shino-kun like that!" Hinata defended her teammate remembering it was her fault that Shino 'wet' his pants.

"Yeah, whatever," he said. He turned his attention back to Naruto, giving him his best smile, "while you were gone on vacation we've been sent on missions to kick some major bandit ass."

Naruto slammed the table with his hand and leaned closer to the dog handler, "I bet I can still beat you any day!"

Kiba laughed and stood up, "You're on, idiot!"

"K-Kiba-kun I don't—"

Hinata was caught off and began to scream in terror as bugs began flying everywhere and into the mouths of both boys causing them to squeal in panic as well.

"Sh-Shino-kun, what are you doing!?" Hinata asked backing away from Kiba who was trying to spit all the bugs out of his mouth.

"We came here to eat, not to see who was stronger," Shino said calling back his bugs who obediently returned inside his jacket.

"What the Hell, Shino?!" Naruto shouted gasping for air.

"You didn't challenge me to fight, only Kiba."

Kiba and Naruto stared at the cryptic boy for a long while before jumping and attacking the ninja, "WHAT?!"

After hearing all the ruckus going on, the owner of the restaurant came running in. He went pale and it seemed he would pass out after seeing the mess in the room. Plates were broke, the table was a mess with drinks spilled all over and meat, raw and cooked, thrown around. Not only was it that but not all of Shino's bugs had returned back safely to his jacket. Some were spit on the table– thanks to Kiba– and were still moving around in the saliva.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic smile, hoping that his high status as Konoha's hero would help him get out of this situation, "aha, sorry about the mess gramps!"

"Your wallets going to be sorry!"

Naruto turned to look at his friends and only noticed the shy blue haired girl sitting at the very corner of the room, blushing a bright scarlet as Naruto stared at her.

"Where'd Shino and Kiba go?" he asked with a nervous laughter.

Hinata twiddled her fingers together, "t-they left right when the man s-said you'd have to pay for the damage."

Naruto groaned and pulled out his very fat Gama-Chan.  _Guess the Hero of Konoha won't work here,_  he thought as he squeezed his very fat frog purse.

"Why is it always me?" he sobbed as he opened his wallet.

* * *

The sun had finally started its way home, leaving a beautiful stroke of red, orange, and pink in its wake. The birds too, like the sun, were on their way back after a long day of filling the summer air with their music. Hinata and Naruto stood outside of Yakiniku Q with the light coming from inside lighting their faces lightly. Naruto was clutching his wallet to his heart, crying comically as the empty thing rubbed against his clothing.

"Gama-Chan, why—always you, Gama-Chan?!" he cried. "It took me so long to earn all that money, and now—now it's all gone!"

Hinata stared at the crying boy not sure what to do or say. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

He looked up from his weeping and stared at the girl in front of him, "It's alright, Hinata. You did help me a bit at least," he said cheering up a bit.

He wiped his childish tears off his whiskered face and gave Hinata a reassuring smile that he was alright. "Well, I guess I should be going now," he said shoving his hands in his pocket as he began to walk. "See ya, Hinata!"

Hinata stared at the blonde boy as he walked away. She stood there for a moment until he was gone from her view and then she turned the other way to walk back home.

She had hoped that they would have spent a little more time together, but even if they had spent more time together she would have fainted or just stuttered the whole time, so what was the point?

She got mad at herself a bit for her lack of confidence but then pushed the thoughts away. That was her, she was shy. She couldn't do much about something she was born with. Many times she had wished she could just miraculously work some courage into her body but nothing ever seemed to work. The only time it seemed she had gotten enough confidence and courage was when she fought Neji during the Chūnin Exams and when she got in between of Pain and Naruto's intense fight.

Hinata stopped in her tracks.

_~ Flashback ~_

_Hinata leaped towards Pain to stop him from hurting Naruto anymore than he already had. He leaped back, noticing from the corner of his eye the girl coming towards him. She landed on her feet next to Naruto. Her heart ached seeing her friend, the boy that never give up, be forced to being helpless. His body was pierced by Pain's chakra rods, stopping him from moving on his own._

_'How cruel…' She thought starring down at the boy and then back at the monster that had done the crime. 'Restricting Naruto-kun from moving with those poles.'_

" _I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun anymore!" She said with every ounce of confidence she had in her._

_Pain didn't seem like he cared for the girl, she was interfering with his plans. "Reinforcements?"_

" _Why'd you come out here, dattebayo?! Get away quickly! You're no match—"_

" _I know."_

_Naruto lifted his head to look up at the girl who was willing to risk her life, even if she was no match, for him. He was shocked… and angry… yet awed. Hinata, the sweet, gentle, shy Hinata had come to his aid. Of all people, her._

" _I'm just being… Selfish."_

_Anger was beginning to brew inside Naruto's stomach. This is exactly what he didn't want to happen. He didn't want anyone to interfere with this fight. He didn't want anyone getting hurt for him, to die for him. He was trying to prevent that. "What are you talking about?! Don't put yourself in danger like this!"_

_Hinata didn't budge. "I'm here because I want to be." Images of when she was younger, helpless, weak, flashed through her mind. Naruto was there to save her. To give her a goal to strive for. She wanted to repay him for all he had done for her, even if he didn't realize it. "This time I'm going to save you, Naruto-kun."_

_The blonde haired boy stared shocked by her sudden change in attitude. This wasn't the same shy girl he always knew. She was… different._

" _I was always crying, and giving up before even trying… I made the wrong turns so many times… But you helped me find my way and take the correct path, Naruto-kun… I always chased after you, I wanted to catch up to you. I wanted to walk beside you all the time. I want to be at your side, always. You changed me, Naruto-kun! Your smile is what saved me! That's why I'm not afraid to die… If it means I can protect you!"_

_She smiled, finally getting the courage to say the words that had been glued to her throat for so long, "Because… I love you, Naruto-kun!"_

_~ End of Flashback ~_

It had been a while since she confessed her love for the blonde boy. They hadn't had a chance to talk about it, or even acknowledge it since it had happen. If there was anything to talk about in the first place. She smiled, as long as everyone was okay and still alive after that attack, she didn't mind if he remembered or not. But she wished for more than anything, that he did.

She was half way to the Hyūga Compound when she heard a loud scream pierce through the silence of the evening. She sprinted towards the forest where the shouts were coming from. When she was close enough to clearly hear the shouts for help, she activated her Byakugan to see where the person was. She turned her direction towards two o'clock, as if going towards the river again, where she found three older men and a younger one, around Hinata's age, being mugged by three big scarred men.

Hinata hesitated it was too simple where it almost looked like a trap. She leaped into the clearing in front of the bandits. One who had a scar on his right cheek almost laughed at the girl, "look, little lady, it's best if you just go home and pretend you didn't see or hear anything."

"I won't let you harm these poor civilians!" She said, putting her confidence in it to show she met business. She took her Gentle Fist stance, the two other men stared in curiosity. "Jūkenpō: Hakke Sanjūni Shō!" (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms) "Eight Trigrams two palms! Four palms!" Her hits were direct, not missing their target. "Eight palms! Sixteen Palms!" The man was now pushed against the tree, making it easier for the Byakugan wielder to make her hits. She put all her anger into her hits, making him see she was not weak like he took for her. Her hits were growing stronger, causing the tree to snap and crack behind the man's body.

"Thirty-two palms!" She stopped for a few seconds, letting the man catch his breath but before he could fully lift his head, Hinata delivered the final blow. The surge of strength behind her hits caused the tree to snap beneath the man's body.

She turned towards the rest of the bandits who had just witnessed what had just occurred in front of them. They lifted their hands in defeat, "p-please! We were just looking for some quick money. W-we're sorry!"

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she jumped on instinct, it was Kakashi. "It seems you made it here faster than I did," Hinata turned to see the masked ninja rubbing his head in embarrassment, "sorry about that." His hand moved away from the girl and he walked towards the thieves to tie them up. "I heard the screams and rushed here but you ended up getting here before me, thank you."

One of the men stepped forward towards the masked ninja, "you must be Kakashi Hatake, we were supposed to rendezvous with you just up ahead but it seems luck wasn't on our side in this journey."

"Yes, you must be Daisuke? I- uh, ran into a little old lady who needed help with her bags."

Hinata rolled her eyes at the failed attempt to fool her, but he sure did manage to win over the older man.

"Hinata, I think it's best if you escort them back to the village, I'll take care of the thieves."

She nodded knowing what he meant by that. Ever since the invasion on Konoha, there had been a huge increase in attempts of infiltration in the village and burglaries right on the border. Security was increased but it seemed like the number just increased along with it. Tsunade took this as the enemy trying to see their strength in military. Any thief or prisoner caught was to be sent to Ibiki Morino at the Intelligence Division to be interrogated to see if they had any information on the rise of crimes. So far nothing had been discovered but that didn't mean anyone let their guard down.

When Kakashi took the bandits and was gone she turned her attention back to Daisuke, "Are you alright?" she asked.

As if she had snapped something in his mind, the old man jumped up. "Oh, my! Quick, check if Prince Kazuhiko is alright!" The other two men jumped up as well and turned to the younger boy who was standing behind the carriage.

He waved them off, "Oh stop your worrying. I'm fine."

Hinata looked towards the boy and finally got a good look at him. He was tall and thin with pale golden eyes. His brown hair was pin straight and reached his shoulders. His side parting let a large portion of his bangs cover the right side of his face. He wore a long light blue kimono, and black pants underneath, with a golden sash. The kimono hanged loosely, exposing his fit chest. Hinata blushed as he turned his back on her when he noticed she had been starring. The back of his kimono was adorned with a small emblem of three white camellias in the form of a triangle.

"Really, shouldn't the ninja of Konoha know it's rude to stare," Kazuhiko said.

Hinata blushed a darker scarlet and was grateful that it was too dark to see her.

"Aki, Senji, and Daisuke, please retrieve the things that have been taken." The three men took the Prince's orders and hurried to place everything back into the carriage.

"Thank you, again, for saving us." Hinata jumped in surprised at the voice the prince was using on her. Wasn't he being rude just a little while ago?

"Y-you're welcome, Prince Kazuhiko," the Hyūga said with a smile.

"I don't think you've told me your name…" The prince said.

Hinata mulled it over for a moment and then figured it wouldn't make a difference if he knew her name or not, "Hinata Hyūga."

"Hinata, in the sun. Suits you well, your smile can make someone feel like they're in the sun," he said taking Hinata's hand and kissing it gently.

She didn't know how to feel, she blushed lightly from embarrassment and thanked him. She never had a boy approach her so directly before.

"W-we should get back to the village before we're attacked again. It's v-very dangerous out here at night."

The Prince seemed like he had been brought back to reality, "Right, right. I almost forgot. I guess you lose time speaking to such a beautiful girl."

Hinata smiled at the compliment but other than that didn't know what else to do. Boys never gave her attention like this one was doing, and she barely knew him! She figured it was just his character and brushed it off, no need to let your head get filled with compliments. Her heart belonged to someone else anyway.

"Everything has been taken care of, my Prince."

Kazuhiko nodded, "very well. Hinata-san shall escort us to the village." They nodded in response. The prince turned back to the girl with a gentle smile painted on his face, "lead the way into the sun, Hinata-san."

* * *

Kakashi pushed the three thieves down on their knees in front of Ibiki, a hesitant smile beneath his mask as he stood before the interrogator.

"So these are the three filthy low lives that have plagued my village with their presence," the older man said starring down at the three thieves that were thrown in front of him. He gave them a menacing grin, "we'll just have to find out what your real plan is, won't we?"

Kakashi laughed nervously, standing near Konoha's strongest interrogator was far beyond intimidating. "Hinata-san took care of them outside the village. They attacked Prince Kazuhiko from the Camellia Kingdom."

Ibiki stared at the masked ninja, giving him a knowing look. "So this wasn't a random attack after all. It seems the Hokage knew just what she was talking about when she said to send all the bandits to me." He lowered himself to get in the level of the three prisoners in front of him and grabbed one by his chin, pinching it a bit too hard, "seems we'll just have to squeeze it all out of you. Every last ounce of it."


	2. The Mission Revealed

It was morning. The sun was already midway in the sky. The birds, who seemed to wake earlier than the average morning person, had been chirping and soaring through the sky. The inhabitants of the Village Hidden Amongst the Leaves were already starting there day. Women were sweeping outside their homes or preparing their children for school. Others, along with the men, were opening up shops. The younger children, who were not yet ready for the Academy, were still in bed dreaming away their blissful and innocent dreams.

Not only were the young children of Konoha still in bed dreaming, but also a certain blonde headed ninja. His snores filled his small apartment with an ear shattering sound. Drool was slowly creeping out of his mouth and on to his bed sheets. Ramen bowls, scrolls and expired milk cartons were scattered about through the room. His pillow, along with his blanket, was thrown around the small room, far from where the young shinobi laid. One of his arms was swung lazily over the bed and the other was tucked under his body. His butt was sticking in the air and his head was turned towards the wall. To anyone else the position might have been uncomfortable but to Naruto Uzumaki it only encouraged his hibernation.

He dreamed of a huge bowl of ramen. He swam nakedly and free across the warm broth, biting the ramen that he encountered and using the fish cakes as floats to relax on.

A loud knock was what brought him back to reality and away from his dream. Naruto turned his back to the loud noise and tried to sojourn back to his bowl of ramen but that only fueled the knocks to get louder and stronger. He groaned and reached for his pillow, when he realized it wasn't on his bed he swung his arm over his head and tried to block the knocks out, maybe they would go away if they thought there was no life inside the small apartment.

Of course he was dead wrong.

A loud smash made the lazy boy jump out of his bed and run to the door in a frantic rush.

Or well, ex-door.

Sakura stood outside where the door use to stand wiping her hands with an expression filled with apathy towards her actions. Naruto stared from the smashed door to the girl who just didn't seem like she cared if she smashed doors open or not and wanted to start laughing hysterically. It seemed every time he got money something would happen where his frog wallet would end up empty without even lint inside of it.

"Sakura-chan, why?! Not my door!" Naruto cried as he bent down to pick up the small remains of his door and clutched it to his heart. "I have no money to pay this!" He sobbed even louder as he remembered emptying out his wallet to pay for the previous night's mess at Yakiniku Q where his unfaithful companions left him with a big check of not only food but damage. Even Hinata's chip in hadn't even made a dent on what he had to pay the owner for the mess.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, "Well maybe you should open the door when I knock!"

The blonde ninja lifted his eyes towards the girl, "That doesn't mean smash my door open! I was asleep!"

"And I was knocking! Maybe you should have gotten up!"

"Sakura-chan, I know you have freakish monster strength but that doesn't mean you can—Sakura, what are you doing?" He said nervously as he backed away from the girl who was cracking her knuckles and growing closer. "N-no! S-Sakura-chan, I-I'm sorry!" he begged putting his hands up in defeat.

The pink haired kunoichi had an evil smirk on her face as she raised her fist and connected it with Naruto's head. He fell to the ground, clutching his head with tears in his eyes. She turned around not giving him a second glance.  _Hmph, how's that for monster strength?_

"Tsunade-sama summoned us, hurry up and get dressed!" She said as she began to make her way through the door way.

Naruto looked up and lowered his hands from his head, "How am I going to get dressed without a door?! You br—" Sakura stopped in her tracks and lifted her fist up, making the boy shut up and run back to his room, leaving rushing wind from his speed in his wake.

A soft smile crept up on her face and, though she wouldn't say it to him or anyone else, she whispered before leaving his apartment, "I missed you, Naruto."

* * *

Over at the Konoha Intelligence Division, Ibiki Morino was doing the last bit of preparations before interrogating his latest victim. He finalized the paperwork and walked through the door where his prey sat unmoving. It was the man with the scar on his right cheek that underestimated Hinata. He sat still. His legs were restrained with metal chains that were attached to the ground. His hands were cuffed by metal bracelets that were attached to the plain white table he sat behind. The scarred man's head was hung low and his breathing was calm.

_No sign of struggle… yet,_  Ibiki noted with a smirk towards his prey's direction.

"Your little friends tell me you're the leader, Kiyoshi" he started off with.

No answer.

He moved closer and sat in front of him. "I think it's best if you tell me everything now before things get really messy real soon."

No response.

Ibiki, who was use to this lack of coporation, stared at him for a moment and observed his characteristics. He was a middle aged man, no more than his early thirties. He had a shaven head and tan skin. His eyes were shadowed but Ibiki could feel hate radiating off them. The scar on his cheek bored deeper and deeper into his skin as he stared at it.

"Let's start off with how you got that scar."

Kiyoshi tensed up and Ibiki knew he had hit a nerve. For a moment the man didn't answer but then he lifted his head and stared at his predator in front of him, his voice low and raspy, "it's from a fight."

Ibiki smiled satisfied that his toy was finally speaking. "Tell me about it."

Kiyoshi tried to move around but the restraints prevented him from actually doing it. Should he tell this stranger the story? Should he stay quiet? He saw no harm in speaking a tale from his past. He looked into Ibiki's eyes and gave the man a mocking smile and began to retell his tale.

_~ Flashback ~_

_The moon hung low in the starry sky. The sun was long gone and the moon took center stage to show off its beauty. Kiyoshi waited in a nearby tree, waited for anything. A sign maybe. Anything._

_He knew the mission he was on was one that wasn't exactly right. He knew the difference between right and wrong but when you're a Jōnin you simply follow orders and do not hesitate. There were many things you learned in Kirigakure, one being the mission is always first. You don't hesitate, ever, not under any circumstances. You must accomplish the mission._

_At the time the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was in reign. Kiyoshi had to kill all his classmates in order to reach his high ranking as a ninja, especially the girl he had grown to love. But he didn't regret it. You were raised to believe that those who could not fight were not born to live, so he had been doing his village a favor by wiping out the weaklings so he could move up as a ninja._

_He squinted at the trees in front of him to try and see the other shinobi that had been placed on this mission with him, Suyo. He didn't need help. He could do this mission on his own but the Mizukage had said this mission could not be done alone. He wasn't allowed to complain, regardless, if he had another shinobi on this mission with him or not, he would do it on his own._

_There was a change in the wind and Kiyoshi could sense the chakra of someone else. He lifted his kunai and crouched in a position so he was ready to jump when the time would come, he wasn't going to let Suyo 'help' on this mission._

_His victim came into view, a ninja from a foreign land who didn't even seem to know he was about to be ambushed. Kiyoshi jumped out of the trees, kunai in hand, and slammed it inside the ninja's back. A puff of smoke surrounded him after the impact and a thud at his feet turned his attention to the ground._

' _Damn it,' he thought. 'A substitution.' He retreated back into the trees, senses more alert now that his prey knew he was on the attack. Kiyoshi turned to his left where four shuriken were flying towards him, he jumped to the ground and threw four back in the direction they came from._

' _They came from the west, so that means he'd move northwest or southwest,' he thought. He stood in the center where the Hidden Ninja's substitution laid. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" Nothing happened for a moment but then a thick fog began to cover the air around him. He smirked, only he and Suyo could move around in this mist. He shut his eyes and tried to focus on the chakra around him to try and find his target. Before he could sense the chakra of the stranger, there was a loud scream. A scream that pierced through the forest and sent the birds flying elsewhere. A scream that shook and rattled every nerve in his body. A scream he knew a little too well._

_It was Aika's._

_Aika. The girl he had fallen for. The girl he had loved since he could speak. The girl he had to kill in order to become a ninja._

_He shook his head. 'No. No, it can't be her. She's dead. I killed her. I saw her bloody head fall to the floor—her skin going white, the blood stopping its circulation. It can't be her, no!'_

" _Kiyoshi, why? You told me you loved me. We promised we wouldn't go through with the final exam. You lied, you lied to me!" The girl shouted. Her screams and cries growing closer and louder._

_Kiyoshi lifted his head up from his hands and stared through the fog, there stood Aika. Her clothes were tattered, blood smeared all over them. Her cheeks were slashed and her arms and neck were covered in a blanket of dry blood. A giant knot began to form in the middle of the Jōnin's throat making it harder to breathe or even speak. "P-please, Aika. I'm sorry!" he cried._

_The ghost girl turned her head to reveal a giant cut that bore on the back of her head, blood still flowing out of it. "You did this. You did it all for a rank, Kiyoshi."_

_The girl walked closer and closer until she was only breaths away from the boy that kneeled before her. He couldn't move, or even think right, he knew it was a Genjutsu but at the same time it seemed too real to be fake. He knew this was the amazing power of Tatsuya Sazumoto. But his senses didn't know that, making the Genjutsu more real._

_He kneeled there paralyzed, tears rolling down his cheeks. He should run, or just move out of the way, but he couldn't. This was what the Genjutsu did. It paralyzed you and stopped you from doing anything._

_Aika was now in front of him, her lifeless eyes boring at the top of Kiyoshi's head. "You are a liar, Kiyoshi." She lifted her hand, he shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. Her hand stood frozen in the air for a moment and then gently fell down on the boy's cheek, her cool fingers wiping away his tears. "But I forgive you," she whispered. Kiyoshi stared up and almost lifted his hand to squeeze back the girl's gentle hand that rested on his cheek. But he couldn't. His head started becoming light and then everything went dark._

_~ End of flashback ~_

"I woke up back in the village's hospital. The Mizukage told me that Suyo had been killed and our target had escaped, sparing me with a simple cut on my cheek." He paused for a moment and clenched his hands into fists. "He said Suyo had begged Tatsuya to spare my life and take his instead." He laughed, "He was a fool."

Ibiki had been taking notes frantically as Kiyoshi spoke. His pen not resting from beginning to end. He finally put the pen down. "That'll be enough for today," he said getting up with his notes and leaving through the door.

* * *

Elsewhere, five ninjas were standing in front of the Hokage's desk awaiting for further orders. Naruto felt unease with having Kiba stand just a few feet away from him, let alone having a high chance on being placed on a mission with him. He still hadn't forgiven him for upright leaving Yakiniku with Shino and leaving all the blame on him.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched up. "Huh?! What the hell is going on here?" He jumped up, pointing a finger towards Kiba, "Why is dog breath here?! And where the heck is Sai?!"

Tsunade ignored his tone, "He's filling in for Sai who's on a different mission."

Kiba gave Naruto a teasing grin, "Afraid I'll out shine you on this mission?"

"Alright, but of all people Kiba?!"

"You two along with Sakura and Hinata are the only ninja available now, one of you who was personally requested by our client. With all the reconstruction and fear of invasions, we're at a shorthand with ninjas right now, "Tsunade said as she stood and walked towards her cabinet.

Naruto smiled knowingly, "I didn't know I was that famous that people are requesting me for missions!"

Tsunade walked back with a scroll in hand, "You're not." She rolled the scroll open on the table. "Hinata was the one who was requested."

All eyes turned to stare at the blue haired girl who was now blushing. She hadn't known she was personally requested to do a mission for a client. She came into the Hokage's office with Kiba thinking she had to do more guard work on the border of the Land of Fire, not something else, something like this. She twiddled her fingers nervously and tried to avoid eye contact with the others, hoping they would all drop their gaze away from the girl.

"So what kind of mission do you have for me today, baa-chan? Who do I have to put in their place?" Naruto said, going back to his loud and conceited self.

"You won't be doing any fighting; at least we hope you won't. This is an escort mission for a VIP." she said.

"What are you kidding me?!" Naruto said, fist in front of the Hokage.

Sakura twitched and placed a hand on his shoulder to make him face her, "Quit your complaining and let the women talk you idiot!" She shouted clenching her fist.

Naruto shrunk deep in his clothing, backing away a little from his teammate. "uh, sure."

"You'll be escorting prince Kazuhiko to the kingdom of Camellias where he must go through with a sacred ritual."

Hinata froze in place.  _Prince Kazuhiko?_  She thought, and then it hit her. The boy she had rescued. He had requested her for this mission. Could it be that that was why he wanted to know her name?

"A sacred ritual?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade nodded, "Yes. For years now the Island of Camellias has passed down a very powerful jutsu through the royal's bloodline. Prince Kazuhiko was sent away to the Land of Gems to learn it and now has to go back to fulfill this ritual."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "This doesn't seem like such a hard mission to need so many guards."

"That's where you are wrong, Naruto," Kakashi finally spoke up. "The kingdom of Camellias is known for their powerful jutsus that run down the royal family." ( watch?v=fQ_5CPZfOW4 )

"The Island of Camellias royal bloodline is known to have many powerful jutsus but they also hold something more important, a pin that holds a mysterious power that can unleash a demon from its sleep, Azukitogi. This sacred ritual has to be done every hundred years in order to keep the demon's power locked and sealed away in this pin. Many people have tried to manipulate the prince's mind and tried to get him to open the barrier that holds the pin. Of course, the kingdom of Camellias uses the pin in their advantage to prevent their island from being invaded, so as far as we know he hasn't given in to the pressure."

Tsunade closed her eyes and fell back in her chair, "Madara Uchiha is one of those who has tried to get close to the prince."

Naruto tensed up, finally something catching his attention, "Madara?"

She nodded. "Intel tells us Madara and Zetsu have been moving for several days now, tracking the prince's movements. We know they're after the prince, but exactly how they plan on catching him and exactly what they want to do with this demon still remains a mystery. We do have a clear idea that they want to use Azukitogi's power to dominate the war."

"If that's what Madara is planning then we can't let him accomplish his goal. Not only would it turn over the power in the war, but Azukitogi would eventually destroy the world with his power. Unless Madara has somehow formed a plan to control the demon's power," Kakashi added.

"Of course, Azukitogi's body wasn't sealed away in the pin, only his soul. Prince Kazuhiko's great grandfather sealed away his body here," Tsunade pointed on a small country on the map, "in the Island of Camellias and the pin is somewhere here," she pointed towards a farther off country that was surrounded by water, "the Land of Gems, at least that's what we believe. Recently, someone has tried to break through the barrier that protects the pin that holds Azukitogi's soul, the pin was taken but we don't know if his soul has been resurrected. We could assume it has, though. If his body and soul become one and Azukitogi gets fully resurrected once again, then we might not be able to stop him and the situation will be irreparable."

Naruto looked up from the map and at the Hokage, "What happens if they become united?"

"The world will be destroyed." She turned back to the map, "The prince is here in the village but must be taken back to the Island of Camellias where the body is sealed and go through with the ritual to seal Azukitogi's body away for good. The faith of the world depends on it." She rolled the map up and placed it on the corner of her desk, "You have until sunset to gather your things and meet with the prince and his personal attendants at the main gate."

The five shinobi nodded, "Right!"

* * *

The sun was finally about to set and Hinata stood alone at the gate waiting for the others to arrive before the prince. She was nervous, yet excited. She had been glad she was put on a mission with Naruto because she finally was given the chance to show him how much she'd grown. Even though she did hope they wouldn't approach the enemy, a small part of her wished they did so she could show the blonde ninja how much she'd developed and honed her skills.

She hadn't known the prince was so important. Could it be that that's why the bandits tried to rob him? Did they know what he held or were they just some typical low lives? They had to know, it was too great of a coincidence for them not to know. Especially since Kakashi wanted to personally escort them to Ibiki, there had to be something suspicious going on.

Hinata hoped that whatever it was though, that Ibiki would leak it out of them and get the Intel to the Hokage right away. If he didn't something told her that whether the prince was escorted to where he needed to go or not wouldn't matter. This mission was more important than it sounded.

"Hinata-sama! So glad you have been put on this mission!" Hinata turned to the voice to find prince Kazuhiko getting out of his carriage and walking towards the girl. Hinata smiled at him and nodded.

"Is it only you that will be placed on this mission?"

Hinata shook her head no and looked towards the sun, it was about to set. "No, the rest of my teammates will show up soon. Y-you're in good hands, prince Kazuhiko," she bowed.

The three other ninjas came strolling in just as the sun set, Hinata had felt as if she hadn't received a memo considering they all came together. She brushed it off and greeted her comrades as they walked towards her. They all waited for a while for the famously late Kakashi Hatake who showed up as the sun was replaced by the moon. He waved at them and apologized for being late. Naruto and Sakura who were use to his lies simply waved it off.

"Alright! Let's get going to the Island of Camellias!" Naruto shouted as he took lead and began to walk ahead. He stopped short and ran back to the others, "exactly where is the Island of Camellias?"

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka walked up to where the prisoner was being held. Kiyoshi was unconscious and sat between two large stone protrusions that incased him. The structure blocked out all the energy the prisoner's body induced and amplified those within he or she's mind, making Inoichi's job simpler. The man placed his palm on the victims head and steam began to rise out of the holes of the stone surrounding him.

Inoichi closed his eyes and focused, he was now inside the man's mind. He moved around the brain and pulled out a scroll and began to look through the events. When he found nothing he moved on to another, this went on for several minutes until he found something that drew him closer.

He stopped and paused at a vision of Kiyoshi's memory. In the memory he was walking towards what seemed to be an abandoned home. When he was inside there was a man in the shadows but you couldn't really see him that well.

"I need you to infiltrate the Leaf," the shadowed figure said. A pile of money landed before Kiyoshi's feet, he lifted it and peered inside.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

The man stepped closer, revealing himself.

It was Madara.


	3. Set Sail for the... Ocean?

It was a nice night. If you were to stand outside and look up you'd feel as if you were inside a dome, a dome that had enough stars peeking through the roof that could last you a life time. By now everyone was home enjoying time with their families, having dinner, laughing. Those type of things. Everyone except Inoichi Yamanaka.

Inoichi was doing far beyond what the ordinary citizen would be doing. He was inside the mind of someone who could potentially be Konoha's biggest link to Madara Uchiha and his plans.

He moved around the brain of Kiyoshi and pulled out scrolls that held memories from his childhood to now. When there wasn't anything that seemed valuable about the information he was taking in, he moved on. This went on for several scrolls until he stumbled upon something that caught his complete attention.

He stopped and paused at a vision of Kiyoshi's memory. In the memory he was walking towards what seemed to be an abandoned home that was completely broken down and forgotten about. It was a small house that was painted white and made out of concrete. The paint was beginning to chip off, leaving naked patches. Green vegetation entangled itself on the front, dancing towards the back and roof of the house. The two windows on either side of the decrypted face of the home were gone with only small shards of glass protruding out of random places of the frame. Kiyoshi made his way through the doorway, the door was missing from the hinges that held it up.

Inside was a lot like the outside. It was a one room house. Old, broken, and abandoned without any maintenance. Except there wasn't anything really to care for inside. There was broken glass—probably from the windows—scattered across the floor, old leaves decorating the wooden ground, a broken light dangled from the ceiling. Other than a lonely wooden chair in the corner of the room, there was nothing else. Besides the dark shadow of a figure that lingered in a dark corner.

"I need you to infiltrate the Leaf," the shadowed figure said. A bag filled with money fell before Kiyoshi's feet, lifting up dust and making it fill the atmosphere that was the small home. He lifted the bag and peered inside with curiosity.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

The man stepped forward, revealing himself.

It was Madara.

The majority of his body was still covered. A dark cloak of shadows engulfed most of his body and face but you could still see the side of his orange spiraling mask. There was no doubt about it, it was Madara Uchiha.

The masked man kept his voice low and smooth as he spoke, "You're going to try and kidnap someone, doing so will get you captured and make it simpler to get inside of Konoha."

Kiyoshi laughed, "That's a given."

Madara stepped closer, "But first," he lifted his hand over Kiyoshi's head and slammed a needle filled with purple liquid into the side of his neck. For a moment Kiyoshi stood there, still stunned by the sudden turn of events, before trying to grab at Madara only to have his hand go right through him. Then he began to lose his balance. Swaying back and forth like a boat on water before collapsing on to the ground, motionless.

He tried to move his arms, his legs, even tried to fight his eyes from closing but nothing worked. He was completely helpless. Madara kneeled down to get on eye level with him, "We can't have the leaf snooping around where they are not concerned."

Kiyoshi tried to say something, but he couldn't move anything. He was just there, another item in the desolate room. Lifeless and motionless just like the chair in the corner. He didn't understand what was going on and couldn't ask either because his tongue felt like it weighed eight tons. His eyes fought the darkness but he was no match for the fluid that was taking over his body and causing him to be so paralyzed. They closed and the memory was gone.

Inoichi tried to push more into the scroll and try to get more out of it. Nothing was working. He moved on to another.

Empty.

This went on for several more empty scrolls before he realized there was purple smoke surrounding him. The smoke began to grow thicker and darker before actually suffocating the brain. The smoke danced around him and he moved to keep a distance from it but he was beginning to be surrounded by the purple cloud. A strange feeling of hate and contempt began to grow inside of him. An urge to kill and destroy was boiling inside his stomach. Realizing the shift in emotions, Inoichi pulled his hand away from the prisoner's head and stared at the scene going on in front of him.

Kiyoshi's head was beginning to shake violently, his eyes showed no pupil, only white. The stone that held his body together was now beginning to shake and purple foam was beginning to spill out of his mouth and drip down to the floor. Before Inoichi could shout for help, Kiyoshi's head had stopped and dangled lifeless to the side.

It was silent, only the dripping of the purple liquid spilling on to the floor echoed in the empty room. The Yamanaka stood there starring at the dead person in front of him, waiting for him to wake up, but that didn't happen.

_Damn it, Madara_ , he thought before leaving the room and seeking the Hokage.

* * *

"How much longer until we get there, Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked turning on to the white haired ninja.

Kakashi stepped back alarmed at his closeness, "We have one more stop and then we'll be sailing straight to the Island of Camellias."

Naruto stared at the ninja for a while and tried to decipher his words, when he couldn't understand anymore he continued his badgering. "So… How long?"

The copy-ninja sighed, "About two more days, Naruto."

It had been two days since 'Team Babysit The Spoil Prince Until He Gets Back Home To Do His Princey Stuff' (so well named thanks to Naruto) had been assigned their mission. They had been blessed that they hadn't run into any trouble on their way to shore besides some bad weather and bad gas thanks to Akamaru.

But right now they were sailing on a big wooden boat with the emblem of Camellias on the sails that the prince had provided them with and were heading straight for the Island of Camellias. The sun was high in the sky, not a cloud in sight, and only water surrounded them. Nothing but limpid blue water and blue skies ahead.

Naruto had been impatient since the beginning. Dealing with prince Kazuhiko's ungratefulness and high status attitude was one thing, but having to watch Sakura dance around and swoon over him was another. He couldn't stand it. But the prince never seemed to actually pay any attention to Sakura, he handed it all over to Hinata who didn't seem to do anything besides blush.

And then there was also the fact that there hadn't been enough action going on to fully satisfy his means of excitement. On their way to where the boat was docked Naruto kept mistaking the slightest sounds for enemies and ended up injuring three rabbits on their way to the port. Luckily, though, Sakura was around to heal the poor injured creatures and they hopped away quickly before Naruto could even think of letting out a breath let alone a kunai knife. He was growing tired of just standing around and doing nothing besides watching the blue water. His eyes searched high and low of the ocean for some excitement before his body began to give out and slumped to the wooden floor beneath him, giving into darkness.

When he woke up again the moon already hung in the sky, lighting up the sea with its light. Naruto blinked away the grogginess and rubbed his eyes to get them open. He stood up trying to get his balance and stretched, letting out a loud and obnoxious yawn. "Oh boy, that was some well-deserved sleep—" He turned to look at the others and dropped his hands. The tired smile he had on wiped off his face.

The boat was empty and demolished.

The main sail was tattered, leaving the camellia emblem on it ripped in half, and had scorches of black burned marks. The ground had holes broken through it and there was debris everywhere. Naruto didn't waste any time, he walked around, trying to find any clues to what could have happened while he was out but all he found was little droplets of blood. He followed the scarlet trail until he got to the door that led to the prince's room. His stomach turned and for a moment he felt like he was going to spit out the lunch he had before. He pushed the feeling away and pulled open the door.

Emptiness.

Not even a mouse scampered across the room. The trail of blood led to the middle of the room and then it disappeared. He walked to the center and stood there looking around. "Where the heck is everybody?"

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, and continued to look around the boat. He hadn't noticed they had docked already. For a moment he thought that everyone had left to town to get some food but Kakashi would never leave the ship alone. So where could they be?

_How the heck did I not wake up?_ He asked himself. He leaned over on the boat to look at the water, maybe he could find something there. And he did.

Bodies. Pale lips, hallow eyes, and lifeless skin. Without even pausing he jumped on to the water and turned over one of the bodies, it was Hinata's. Her pale skin had grown a sickly gray color, her lips had gone purple, and her eyes, those eyes that would stare at him with shyness, were now starring back with fear. His stomach was doing cartwheels and he couldn't suppress his anger anymore. It was his fault.

He lifted her into his arms and laid her on the wooden floor of the dock and then went back to look at the rest of the bodies only to find the same thing with Kakashi, Sakura, and Kiba. He laid them all together and then stared at them. The tears began forming and falling down his cheeks. He punched the ground and cursed the world.

"Why didn't I wake up? What the hell went on?!" He shouted to no one in particular.

"You went out of control." Naruto turned around to look at where the voice was coming from, it was prince Kazuhiko.

He wiped his tears away, "What do you mean?"

The prince stepped forward but kept a safe distance from the ninja, "You turned into a demon and went rampant," he nodded towards the dead bodies in front of him, "they tried to stop you but it ended up costing their lives."

Naruto turned back to look at his fallen comrades in front of him and then clutched at his stomach, "I—did this?" The prince nodded. "Why? Why do these things always happen?!" He shouted.

"I know someone who could help you control your power. Going to him will prevent this from ever happening again."

The blonde headed ninja tried to stop the tears from spilling but when he couldn't do that he cleared his throat, "Who?"

"Madara. Madara Uchiha."

He mulled over the name, Madara Uchiha, and then almost began to laugh. "Are you crazy?! Do you think this is a joke?!"

The prince rested a hand on the bewildered boy's shoulder, "Join me, Naruto."

He looked up noticing the change of voice, it was Madara Uchiha himself. He stared back at his lone eye through the mask and could start feeling himself being sucked in. He tried resisting but he was paralyzed, frozen. He couldn't move.

"Naruto…" he tried to turn his head to where the voice was coming from but the more he resisted the more it seemed he was getting sucked in.

"Naruto…. NARUTO!" He jumped up to find Sakura and Kakashi surrounding him. His heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through his veins and sweat trickling down his forehead. It was just a nightmare.

The sun was still out, the boat was still moving, no one was dead and Madara was not around.  _It was all just a dream,_ he kept repeating to himself.  _It was just in my head._

Sakura's mouth was moving but Naruto couldn't hear a word coming out of her mouth, she was mute to him. He was still trying to think of his dream, just what the hell did it mean? It felt so real, he really thought it was happening. His eyes looked from Sakura's to Kakashi's,  _I really thought… I killed you guys,_ he thought.

"Are you even listening?!" Sakura asked grabbing Naruto by the ear and pulling him closer to her lips, "This is no time to be sleeping! We're on a mission not a vacation you idiot!" she shouted. She let go and Naruto fell clutching at his now throbbing ear.

Kakashi stood up, took out his book, and let Sakura handle the work. She had it all under control from what he could see.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep! It sort of just… happened," The Uzumaki said standing up.

Sakura ignored his defense, turned around and began walking back to her watch post. Naruto watched her go, a smile growing on his lips. He was glad it was nothing more than dream.

* * *

The head leader of the Yamanaka Clan waited nervously outside the Hokage's door for his turn to meet with her. These were urgent news and he didn't have time to be waiting for a cue to walk inside her office but this was Tsunade we are talking about so he was even more unease waiting. After a few minutes Kotetsu ran out the door looking anxious with a mountain of papers cradled in his arms. He sprinted past Inoichi and down the hallway. If he didn't have to deliver these news he would have smiled or even laughed, but these weren't laughing times.

He walked in and greeted the Hokage who only returned his greeting with a knowing look. "You've discovered something?"

Inoichi stepped forward and placed the report he had filed on to the Hokage's desk. He stood in front of her as she read it through, the muscles in her face forming a scarier glare as she read every page. When she finished the report she slammed her fist on her desk causing Inoichi to stare up and go back into focus. "Damn, it. Madara's always one step ahead of us."

The Yamanaka nodded, "It's a different kind of mind barrier I've never seen—or even heard of—before. Usually mind barriers simply block us from peering deeper into the prisoners memory banks," he paused recalling the image of Kiyoshi's lifeless head dangling, "this one killed the prisoner and could have done the same to me as well if I hadn't noticed soon enough."

The Hokage bit her thumb and tried to think of what to do next. "Madara did it knowing we would have you use your jutsu on him to find out more, now it's only backfire." Inoichi nodded. "We'll have Shizune and the Medic Corps do an autopsy on his body, see if we can uncover anything. I'll arrange a meeting with the Konoha Council," her stomach turned just thinking of having to sit in a room with the two geezers.

Inoichi nodded, "There is one more thing, Hokage-sama. During the Mind Reading of Kiyoshi, something started taking over my personal emotions. I don't know if it had anything to do with the barrier, but it was something I have never experienced before."

Tsunade stared at the man in front of him.  _Typical of Madara,_  she thought. She couldn't take her chances on Inoichi roaming around if he had experienced something out of the norm during the interrogation. Though maybe it seemed a little drastic, this was Madara. The simplest thing could lead to catastrophic danger. "Report to the hospital, we'll have them do some tests on you."

Inoichi agreed and walked out of the room, a smirk growing on his face.

* * *

The third day had finally come to an end. The sun was covered by a dark blanket, the moon jumped out of the shadows and took its position in the sky. The only noise around was the gentle waves hitting against the ship. Small chatter escaped the boat and evaporated into the air. Naruto lay sprawled gazing at the stars, Kakashi stood by the light reading his degenerate book, Kiba rubbed Akamaru's belly as the ninken whined of the rocking ship. The two kunoichi, Sakura and Hinata, sat in a well-lighted corner trying to come up with some sort of medicine for the poor dog. Everyone was engulfed into their own business, everyone except the prince.

He wanted to leave his cabin and go join the others. Even if he didn't have anything in common with them or anything to say, he just wanted to be surrounded by them. By people. By what he hoped one day he would have, friends.

Sure, he had Daisuke and the others to keep him company but it wasn't what he looked for. He longed for a friendship he would never forget. He longed for someone he could talk to, laugh with, and be able to share things he never had with anyone else. He wanted a friend. He had one before, one he would never forget about and never let go of the memory of their existence, but that was ancient history now. Their friendship only left a dark empty hole in his heart.

He knew his duty was to serve his kingdom and his people. That was his sole purpose for existence, right? That's what he was reminded every day. Generations of royals bequeathed their power to him, all for this cause: to stop Azukitogi and keep him from terrorizing the world once again.

He was fine with that. He would give his life if it meant his people and everyone he loved were still alright. He stared up at the wooden ceiling. How long he had been alone, nothing but bitter training, in the Land of Gems. He hadn't had the time to live as a teenager, hadn't had the time to actually experience the word  _fun_. So it was nothing more to him, nothing but a word.

So why was he getting so worked up over the fact that everyone was outside enjoying themselves in their own little things and enjoying each other's company? Maybe it was because he had those ties and then it was all taken away from him in a heartbeat. He didn't care for the answer if he was all that honest.

He rolled over on his bed and sat up when he heard a soft knock on the door, "Come in, Daisuke." He had gotten so use to the constant checking up on him by his attendant that he wished he had a recorder to simply record him saying that one command.

The door squeaked open to reveal a blue haired girl standing there shyly, her eyes starring anywhere but at the prince. He stood and fixed himself up a bit, he hadn't been expecting anyone but Daisuke to knock on his door.

"W-we're wondering if y-you'd like to join us outside. S-Sakura-san thought you felt a little lonely in here."

Kazuhiko smiled at her stuttering, to anyone else it would have been weird but he found it utterly irresistible. "I'd love to join you," he said following her through the door. He sat down beside the blue haired girl and watched as Sakura mixed many herbs together. "What are you doing?"

Sakura looked up from her mixing and blushed involuntarily as the prince stared at her curiously, "I'm making something for Akamaru, he isn't feeling well and we can't have him sick through the mission." Kazuhiko nodded and watched as the pink haired girl continued her mixing. When she was finished she handed it to Hinata who then took it to Kiba to give to Akamaru. The prince watched as she walked towards her teammate, a smile spreading on his face. Sakura noticed this and scooted closer to him, "So you like Hinata?"

Kazuhiko pulled away from his daze and stared at the girl embarrassed he had been caught gaping at the girl, "N-no, I just admire her is all."

In reality, he didn't know himself. He thought the girl was stunning and kind but he wasn't sure if he felt anything more. He hadn't known her long enough.

Sakura stared at Hinata and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards her. She was beautiful, kind, and though maybe she didn't really see it, talented. Her shyness kept the boys from really approaching her but here was prince Kazuhiko seeing past that and wanting to talk to her and get to know her. She moved her eyes to Naruto who seemed to be passed out cold. Did he know how Hinata felt towards him?

Probably not. He was so dense, he wouldn't realize it even if Hinata spelled it out for him. She wanted to do something to help, something to get him to realize how amazing Hinata truly was and how they both deserved each other.

Something turned inside her stomach,  _he deserves her_ , she thought. She had hurt Naruto too much. She had lied to him straight to his face for her own benefit. She was one of the reasons he was so obsessed with trying to bring Sasuke back. If anything, she had caused Naruto too much pain. He deserved to be happy and so did Hinata.

Kazuhiko waved a hand in front of her, "Are you alright?"

She jumped up and smiled weakly, "Yes, sorry."

He nodded towards Naruto, "I was asking if Hinata-san had a uh—a boyfriend. I always see her getting really nervous over that one." Sakura let out a small laugh and shook her head no. The blue haired girl walked back and sat next to her pink haired friend.

"Kiba-kun was being very stubborn about the medicine but he finally decided to give it to Akamaru," she said as she sat down.

The prince looked up at the moon and then began to stand, "Thank you for letting me join you tonight, Sakura-san," he bowed towards her and then looked at Hinata, giving her a genuine smile, "goodnight, Hinata-san," he said bowing and then leaving towards his cabin.

Sakura stared as he walked away,  _he's going to be a problem,_ she thought. She smirked to herself, finally thinking up the first approach to her plan. She stood up, dusting herself off she said, "I think I'm going to go and get some rest too."

Hinata looked up bewildered, "B-but, Sakura-san, you have night watch w-with Naruto-kun."

Sakura stretched her arms behind her head and turned to look at the Hyūga, "You can cover for me, and I'll take it with Kiba."

Hinata looked at her with wide eyes, "A-are you sure?"

She waved her off, "Yeah, I'm sure he won't mind and neither will Kakashi sensei. Plus, I'll just end up heating my head with that boy. Just make sure to wake him up."

Hinata searched her eyes before she turned around and walked away. Part of her was happy that Sakura had given her the opportunity to get closer to Naruto but another part of her was dying with nervousness. They wouldn't be able to talk, would they? They'd have to be on guard, so no distractions.  _But you get to be able to get closer to him, alone,_ one part of her said. She pushed the thought away, first she had to worry about waking up the Uzumaki.

She walked towards the boy's body that was sprawled on the wooden floor and kneeled down beside him. She didn't know what to do after that. Her heart was pounding, her cheeks were the color of roses, and her palms were beginning to grow sweaty. If she couldn't even wake him up what made her think that she could be on night watch with him, regardless if they spoke or not?

Before she began losing hope Kakashi walked beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll wake him." She gave him a thanking smile and moved aside. Kakashi kneeled next to the boy and slapped his cheek lightly with his book, "Naruto, Naruto wake up." He stirred a little and turned his head away from the masked ninja. Kakashi sighed, "Very well, you want to play like that?"

Kakashi formed the Tiger hand seal, causing Hinata to back away with caution. She would have rather had Kakashi wake Naruto for her but not to actually hurt him. Was he really that much of a heavy sleeper that Kakashi had to expel chakra in order to wake him?

He shoved his fingers into Naruto's bottom, "Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Hinata stared dumfounded, that was it? She blushed and tried to suppress her laughter. Naruto bolted up, tears falling out of his eyes as he grabbed at his butt, "Kakashi sensei!" he cried.

The Jōnin smiled beneath his mask, stood back up, and waved at Hinata, "My job here is done, see ya!" he said walking away.

Naruto stared at him and began waving his arms around the air, "What do you mean your job is done? Hey—hey! Kakashi sensei, I'm not done with you! Get back here!" He shouted. When he realized Kakashi was never going to come back, he turned back to Hinata.

"Uh, where's Sakura?"

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously and looked down at her small fidgeting fingers, "S-Sakura-san said t-that she would take her t-turn with Kiba-kun."

Naruto stared at her for a long moment, taking it all in. The violation caused by Kakashi, Hinata's stuttering, Sakura ditching him for a dog boy. And then, he smiled, "Sounds great, Hinata!"

Hinata looked up from her fingers to see Naruto standing inches away from her giving her his famous trademark grin. She took in one quick breath and fell backwards. Naruto moved forward quickly to catch her and sighed,  _that was close,_ he thought.

He laid her down and sat beside her,  _might as well start our shift now then,_  he said to himself.

Everyone else was now asleep. The lights on the boat were off except the moonlight shinning down to provide enough light to see their surroundings. Besides the ocean, there was nothing. Naruto was slowly growing tired of the vast ocean. He missed seeing land, seeing other people other than Kiba. He was starting to get tired of him too. If Akamaru woke him up one more time with the licking he might just Rasengan him in the ass. He laughed thinking of it.

The calm breathing coming from the girl beside him drew his attention. Her slow, deep breaths gave off that she was having a tranquil dream but Naruto didn't want to bother her. He actually liked watching her sleep. He stole another glance of the sleeping Hyūga, and then another, and then another and he couldn't help himself anymore. Now that he thought about it, this was the second time he had ever really gotten this close to Hinata. The first time being when he went on that mission in search for the Bikōchū beetle with Squad 8. He laughed to himself remembering what a fail that was. This was his first real time he could  _really_ look at her. He saw no harm if he did it.

His eyes moved across her soft features. Her pale, unblemished skin was glowing under the moonlight. Her expression was that of serenity that only sleep could bring but it seemed as if it were natural on her. He never realized it before but Hinata was really beautiful.

_Wait, did I really just think that?_ He scratched his head confused by his own thoughts. He continued to stare at the girl. The light of the moon was hitting her face just right, her eyelashes touched her cheeks gently, and her lips looked almost as if she was smiling, floating through a pleasant dream. She really did look lovely.

_Yeah, she's beautiful but she's well—Hinata!_  He laughed softly out loud and shook his head. He liked Sakura, right?  _Sakura-chan has had my heart since the first time I saw her. She is… she's well…_

Now that he thought about it he couldn't really think of a reason for why he was head over heels for the pink hair kunoichi. He pressed on his thoughts to try and squeeze out for why his teammate made him swoon so much but he surprised himself when he came up with a blank. He dismissed the forgetfulness and decided it would eventually come to him but it kept prying back to the front of his mind. The unwanted thoughts kept pushing and pushing on him the more he tried to forget and then that was all he could think about until a particularly uninvited one came up.

The Land of Iron.

It had been a dream come true that the girl he had fallen head over heels for was finally confessing her love for him. But it was nothing like how he wanted it. He thought that when Sakura finally felt what he felt for her he would be the happiest person alive. But he wasn't. Instead he was annoyed, angry even. He felt  _nothing_.

He knew she was lying.

He had never told her but Sakura's little 'confession' had actually hurt him more than he showed. It had cut him deeper than any wound he had ever gotten before. But the different thing about this wound was it couldn't be healed, at least that's how it felt. He hated being lied to, but to be lied to by a friend, and one he felt something for, it just hurt. He couldn't put it any other way.

She had used his feelings for her own reasons. He had loved her, really  _loved_  her and she took it as if it were a toy and tried to manipulate him.

When Sai informed him that Sakura was just doing it to get him to stop chasing after Sasuke, he could see why she did it. Although it still hurt, he could still see through Sakura's eyes and through her reasons. She was just trying to fix something she felt was her fault. It took some time but Naruto finally came to forgive his teammate for her actions.

But that had changed something. When he asked her out on dates, it didn't feel like he really wanted to. He did but then at the same time he didn't. He no longer blushed around her when she was around him. Something was missing but he didn't know what it was…

He decided to forget about the confusing feelings he had and really pushed the thoughts away this time. Then they moved to something that had really been bothering him since it had happened, his nightmare. As he stared more and more at Hinata he had the urge to touch her cheek and feel the warmth, to touch her wrist and make sure her skin still had a pulse, itched away at his body.  _It was just a dream, nothing more,_ he had to keep repeating to himself.  _But it felt so real._

He turned his gaze up towards the sky. He loved it. If there was anything good about this mission it was that he got to see the stars clearly at night. It made him think of Jiraiya, how he missed that pervy old fool.

Back when he was still training under the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya would take him out to walk on the mountains to practice better chakra control. When they would get to the top the stars would welcome them as they lay on the grass and stared up. A tear fell down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away. Jiraiya wouldn't want him crying.

_He would want you at some whore house having 'fun' for him,_ a voice at the back of his head said making him grin.

He didn't know what it was like to have a father let alone know what it's like to feel fatherly love but Jiraiya was the closest he had ever felt something that he thought could be parental love. If he could see him now, would he have been proud that he had spoken everything out with Nagato?

Yeah, he would.

He had been so engulfed in his own thoughts he hadn't heard the creaking of the wooden floor and the silence around him. He turned to see if the girl had woken up to find her walking towards the railing of the boat.

She put one leg over the railing

Pulled the other one as well and sat on the wooden thing

Then she jumped.

 


	4. Hinata's Melody

The world moved in slow motion the second her body disconnected itself from the railing. Her eyes stayed shut, her eyelashes blanketing her cheeks. Her hair was being pushed back by the wind as she fell forward. If she had been awake and not about to fall into what could be her death, she would have felt like she was flying. The world around her was mute and she liked it that way. It felt perfect, quiet, a beautiful world to just sleep and never wake up—

"Hinata!"

Her eyes opened lazily from her slumber at the piercing scream of her name. She blinked against the wind, her mouth opened to scream but nothing came out. Her slow motion and quiet world was now high speed and violent. There were shouts of panic above her and violent waves threatening to engulf her bellow. She brought her arms up to cover her face and shut her eyes. Something warm shielded her head and put an arm around her.

And then she fell.

The ocean engulfed her with a loud, ear shattering splash. Whatever was holding her must have taken the majority of the impact because she didn't feel a thing. The water crept up her spine and escaped out of her jacket, sending cold waves through her body. She snuggled her head into whatever was so warm against her head, it was the only warmth in this dark damp place. She could feel them going deeper and deeper into the ocean and getting lost into the abyss. For a moment she thought there was no end their falling.

The air in her lungs was disappearing and although she was trying to hold on, she didn't think she could any longer. Bubbles escaped her mouth as she tried to hold all of the air she had in her body.  _Is this where I'm going to die? Disappear into the ocean, into the dark?_ She struggled to get away from the grip that was holding her.  _No, I will not die here._ She screamed, water filled her mouth and swam down her throat. She kicked to get away from whatever was keeping her restrained. She regretted it the second she lost all the air she was saving.

Her lungs were being smothered by the water. She forced herself to fight, to hold on to life but the burning in her chest was too much to bear.

The hold around her body got tighter but she didn't give in. She jerked and tried to swim away but before she could continue to fight, she was being zoomed up. Her body was being pulled upwards and then she was out of the water gasping for air and trying to cough up all the water that inhabited her.

She was flying through the sky, she looked to see what was holding her so tightly, it was Naruto. All she could do was stare in awe as he tried to speak to her. But she couldn't hear anything. He stared at her with such determination, she blinked and she could finally hear his words.

"Hinata, wake up! Breathe!" She looked down, they were so high up. How'd they get so high? A scream escaped her lips as the ship came closer and closer into view. They were going to crash. Without warning Naruto let the girl go and did a quick hand sign. Thousands of clones exploded around them and headed towards the ship to pile on top of each other and provide a softer landing.

He grabbed her again by the waist, "Close your eyes," he shouted. But she couldn't, she wanted to see this. She wasn't afraid anymore. The wind pushed her hair out of her eyes and cooled her cheeks. It felt exhilarating, you were falling but it felt like flying. She wanted to pull away from the boy and fall by herself, to move around the air freely and really act like she could fly. But then again, how many times was Naruto going to hold her like this?

Her daze soon came to an abrupt halt once they landed face first into the mountain of shadow clones. They all disappeared the second their bodies touched them, leaving behind a huge cloud of white smoke. Naruto kept his tight hold on her waist until they hit the solid wooden floor and were pulled away from each other from the impact. Hinata rolled into a crate, her head banging against it, and Naruto rolled to the other side of the ship, quickly stopping his body from hitting anything.

Hinata, whose eyes had closed when she realized the shadow clones wouldn't resist their heavy wet bodies, finally opened her eyes and blinked into the crate that had stopped her from hitting the wall full force. Her head was throbbing and her throat was dry. She tried to lift herself up but ended up just falling back down. Her strength had disappeared and left her muscles feeling like ramen noodles. Her lungs were burning and dying to get more oxygen into her body but something was clogging her air way.

Footsteps came running to her side frantically and someone turned her over. Her eyes were hazed and everything around her was blurry and unfocused. "Hinata… Hinata, stay with us!" The voices were in her ears but were slowly fading into her surroundings. Her eyes closed and her head fell limply to the side.

* * *

In Konoha, the moon hung low by a thread of stars. Inoichi moved through the streets without anywhere in mind to go. His legs had a mind of their own now and moved freely around the village without his consent. He was simply a puppet that went along with it. Children ran past him on their way to their homes before it became too late and their mothers began to worry, citizens of his village greeted him and made small talk, he wasn't really paying attention though. His mind was elsewhere along with his sense of direction.

He sat in a nearby bench and stared in front of him at the trees. The nurse had said that he was fine earlier that day. She said nothing was out of the norm but she said it in a way that made him think she was keeping something from him. Regardless, he couldn't help but disagree with her, something was different about him but not even he knew what it was. He couldn't shake this feeling of something being in him. Even to himself he sounded mad but it was a feeling that would not go away.

His head pumped. The image of a worn down house came to him. Vines and moss grew on the roof and on its face like if it was a green mask. The vegetation around the house was gone, only little patches here and there were scattered around. The windows were broken, some missing the glass completely. The image got clearer, inside the left window stood a person cloaked in the darkness.

He grabbed at his head from the pain.  _Just what the hell is this?_  He asked squeezing his head. The pain was becoming unbearable, he fell to the ground clutching his head and soon enough he was unconscious.

He awoke in a dark room. Something inside him told his brain he knew this place all too well. He didn't panic, he knew what he was doing here. The moonlight showing through one of the windows blinded his eyes and he squinted through it until his eyes became adjusted. He looked around until he saw the figure in one of the corners. He rose.

"I'm glad you've come. Part one has been a success. You have done a good job," the figure stepped forward, "Kiyoshi."

* * *

Hinata woke up lying under a cherry blossom tree. Its petals were scattered around her like a blanket on the vibrant green grass. She sat up and yawned as she stretched her rested muscles. She didn't know where she was and why, but she was well rested.

She twiddled with the grass for a while, not knowing what else to do. She tried to dig deep into her subconscious to try and find something that could tell her why she was there and for what purpose but she couldn't remember anything. She felt like she needed to know more. Needed to know a lot more than she knew now but all she remembered was her name. At least that's all she could think of now. She reached for her head quickly but it felt fine.  _So how did I end up here?_  She asked herself.

She fiddled with the petals that were sprinkled all around her as she tried to search her mind for an inkling of how she ended up at the place she was at now but she came up empty handed. She decided to lie back down and take another nap. If it was important it would come to her. She awoke again at the feeling of someone stroking her hair. Her head was on something warm and soft, nothing like the cool grass that she had thought she had fallen asleep on before. She opened her eyes and sat up quickly.

Next to her was a women with fair skin and long, dark, eggplant hair that fell slightly past her waist. She had side bangs that framed her face and fell down to her shoulders. She wore a piercing white kimono with gold vines stitched at the bottom. Hinata's eyes stared at her up and down and let it all sink in. A small smile began to grow on her face, her eyes began to water, she opened her mouth to say something but then the women pulled her into a tight embrace. ( /O67bH25sO4A )

"Kaa-chan," she said into the women's shoulder. The tears began to fall down her cheeks but they weren't from sadness, or anger, or even frustration from the lack of memory. They were tears of joy.

The women stroked Hinata's hair and held her closer. "Oh, Hinata. Don't cry my child."

The blue haired girl sniffled and pulled away to see her mother closely,  _it really is her._  "I've missed you so much. It's been so hard with just Oto-san," she began to cry again and was pulled into another embrace.

Hinata's mother shushed her daughter, "It's alright. I'm here now. We're here together." She stroked her daughter's hair to calm her tears and began to hum a melody. Hinata smiled at the soothing notes that were filling the air around her. It took her back to a day in the garden. She was running around with her younger sister, the smell of cinnamon rolls escaped the kitchen and drifted to where the girls played. Her mother stood watching them, humming this very song.

The melody escaped her mother's lips and disappeared with the wind. The cherry blossom began to sway with the music as she continued with her notes. Hinata looked at her mother, trying to take in every detail of her and keep it forever. It all felt like a dream. She continued to hum and wiped the trail of tears off her daughter's cheeks and smiled. Hinata joined in to the melody that she knew so well. They harmonized together and the cherry blossom swayed even more, almost as if agreeing to the gift they were giving to the air.

The wind waltzed in gracefully, lifting Hinata's blue strands and dancing with it. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool air as it splashed her face. She could still smell the cinnamon rolls. She could still hear the laughter in the garden as she ran around. She could still see the smile painted on her mother's face. For just a moment she wanted to escape to that once again, to a time that was much simpler. Her eyes opened and she stared down at her lap, "Everything was so simple then, wasn't it, kaa-chan?"

Her mother nodded, "But it's the luxury of living that you have to face problems that only make you stronger."

"I know… I just don't understand sometimes."

"Do you know why you are here my child?"

Hinata picked up a cherry blossom and stroked it, "No, I don't remember anything really," she rubbed her head. "I remember a few things but when I try to think of how I got here… It's just blank."

"I see."

Hinata looked up at her mother, "Kaa-chan, do you know why I am here?"

The women smiled, "I don't believe it's my place to tell you child."

The Hyūga stared anxiously at her mother, "I try to remember something but then my head just starts to ache. I can't remember anything besides my name… And you, kaa-chan!"

It was silent for a moment before her mother said anything, "It's too soon for you to be here, Hinata."

The girl pulled her eyes from the petal and stared at her mother confused, "What do you mean?"

The fair skinned women looked back at Hinata and tried to smile, "Don't worry dear. It's alright," she stood and offered her daughter a hand. "You're time isn't now."

Hinata was still confused. She still had no idea why she was there and how she had gotten there in the first place. She knew something was bothering her mother too but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. She didn't know what was going on or what her mother was even talking about. She didn't want to leave though. She wanted to stay with her mother and lay there under the cherry blossom tree and just continue to take in the motherly love she was getting. She missed it so much, it had been too long since she saw her mother smile, heard her mother's melody.

"I- I don't want to leave, kaa-chan. I want to stay here, stay here with you!" She pleaded. "Please, I don't even remember anything! How am I supposed to go back to something I don't remember? I remember you, I want to be here with you." Her mother shook her head no and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Hinata stared at her in surprise, finally calming down and letting herself just listen.

"It would be too selfish of me to keep you here with me," she bent down and picked up a petal off the ground and stuck it behind her daughter's ear. "I owe you more than this for leaving you and Hanabi at such a young age."

Hinata's eyes began to water again but she pushed the tears back, "No, kaa-chan. You've done a lot for Hanabi and me especially. Your presence never leaves my heart." She grabbed her mother's hand and clasped it in her own, "You've given me a goal to strive for."

Her mother looked down at the girl before her, smiling. "I'm sorry, Hinata. We'll meet again, just not now my dear."

Hinata looked down at their entwined hands as hers were beginning to fade away. Her fingers and legs were disappearing slowly as well. She looked at her mother panicked who only gave her a reassuring smile. "It's alright, do not fear." Her mother stepped closer and kissed her on the forehead, "You'll know when the time is right my child," she said with a small smile. Hinata stared at her bewildered and tried to pull her mother closer to her just to have her arms go right through her body. She kept trying to grab her mother but it was no use. "You've truly bloomed into a beautiful flower, Hinata," she whispered as the wind carried away the cherry blossom petals and her daughter on its shoulder.

* * *

It was dark, cold, and rocking. Hinata blinked her eyes opened, finally coming back to reality. Her head was throbbing, her throat felt like sand paper had rubbed up against it, and her lungs burned. She began to cough and water escaped her lips. Her breathing was ragged and she held her sides as she continued to cough up more and more water. All of it escaping her body and splashing the ground. When it was finally over she lay her head back down on the pillow and continued to stare up at the ceiling, chest heaving up and down. Someone rushed in, "Hinata?" they asked panicked.

She turned her head weakly to see who was standing in the door way, her eyes were still hazed but she could recognize the pink haired girl regardless. She gave her a weak smile, "Sakura-san."

The girl stood there for a moment, trying to take it all in and then she was running to the weak girl, pulling her in for an embrace. Hinata was confused by what was going on so she sat there and let the girl hold her tightly. Her tears seeped through her clothes and wet her shoulder slightly. When she pulled away, Sakura wiped her tears away and gave her a smile. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I—we were all so worried. Do you feel better now?"

Hinata clutched at her side, "I-I'm fine," she said weakly.

The pink haired kunoichi smiled at the stuttering, "Can you stand? I'm sure everyone else wants to see you."

She moved the sheets off the girl and helped her sit up and get on her feet. Hinata's feet touched the cool wooden floor beneath her and her toes curled at the coldness. Sakura put an arm around her waist and helped her up. At first the girl felt like she couldn't stand but she forced her body to cooperate. They walked towards the door and out into the gray world.

Hinata had to squint at the sudden brightness. Though it was gray outside and the sky seemed sad, it was still bright. Everyone was huddled around her door sitting, standing, or pacing back and forth. Kiba lifted his head from pacing and stopped quickly at the sight of the two girls that had just emerged out of the room. He stared in awe at the girl Sakura was holding up. He ran towards her, a big smile plastered on his face. "Hinata," he said, "You're awake! You're alright!" He took her off Sakura's hands and helped her sit down on a nearby crate, Akamaru nudged her hand and she began to stroke his warm white fur. "I'm so glad you're awake. We thought you we—"

"How are you feeling, Hinata?" Kakashi asked standing up from where he was sitting.

Hinata looked up from Akamaru and at the masked ninja, "I feel fine now, just a bit light headed."

"That prince sure knows how to work miracles!" Kiba said after being interrupted by the Jōnin. Hinata looked around to find the prince and then looked at Kiba, "Where is the prince?"

"He's resting in the servant's quarters. When you fell unconscious he took you into his room and performed a secret jutsu that the Kingdom of Camellias is known for. It exerted a lot of his chakra so he went to rest," Kakashi answered.

"Yeah! We didn't think it worked though. Sakura said your chakra flow had stopped. We thought you were dead, I was so sca—"

"Shut up, Kiba."

Everyone turned to look at Naruto who was leaning against a railing starring out at the wide ocean. Hinata studied him. His eyes were tired, his clothes were wet, and his hair was all over the place. She blushed and looked down. Sakura smiled at the girl, she was fine.

Kiba clenched his teeth at him, "What's your problem, huh?" Naruto ignored him.

Kakashi stared at the girl, "Hinata."

She looked up, "Yes?"

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

* * *

Tsunade stood in her office starring out her window, hands on hips. She was worried for the team she had deployed days before on a mission.  _If Madara has more to do with the prince then we know… It will turn out to be more than an A-Rank mission._  She bit her thumb and stared intently outside.

It was still foggy and gray outside. A storm was on its way surely but that wasn't what she was worried about. She turned back to her desk and stared at the map that was rolled out. In less than a day they would be arriving at the last port. She wanted to tell herself everything was going to be fine, they were almost at the Island of Camellias but something was still clawing at the back of her head.

"Tsunade-sama, are you still worried about Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked from the side. She held Tonton tight in her arms.

Tsunade stared at the map more closely, "No, it isn't Naruto I'm worried about."

"But don't you think it was a little too dangerous to send him on this mission? Especially since Madara is involved."

"No, Naruto can hold his own," she said as she rolled up the map. She couldn't stand around and worry about them right then. She had other matters to attend to. That team was grouped with specialized and trained ninjas, they would be fine.

"Shizune," the women holding the pink pig stood up straight at the Hokage's commanding voice. "How's the autopsy on the man we interrogated going?"

Shizune placed Tonton down and handed the Hokage a folder. "We haven't uncovered anything serious yet," she took the folder and sat down to begin going through it. "But there is something strange."

Tsunade looked up from the folder, "Strange?"

Shizune walked in front of the Hokage's desk and took the folder from her to open to a picture. It was the picture of the prisoner stripped down and laid down on a metal table. His skin was pale and his naked body bared dark symbols going across his chest.

"What is this?"

Shizune pulled out several other pictures that were close ups of the symbols on the man's body. "I'm not sure but they were all over his body. I scratched off a sample of it to see what it was made of but it was his skin. It's like he was born with it, a strange birth mark."

Tsunade studied the pictures more closely, "Do you know what the symbols can mean?"

"No, Tsunade-sama, I don't. That's why I wanted to ask you if you could send these pictures to the Cryptanalysis Team to see if they can uncover something."

The Hokage nodded, "Very well. Have you done any tests on the purple foam?"

Shizune nodded, "We're still in the process of studying it, Tsunade-sama." She handed the folder back to the Hokage. "There is one thing I was curious about though. How did the tests results come out for Inoichi-san?"

The Hokage reached out to get a manila folder off the corner of her desk and looked through the papers, "The tests came out pretty good. There is one thing that has been bothering me lately." She pulled out a black picture with white lines, "During the tests the nurse said he was conscious, he was fully there. But look at this," Shizune looked more closely at the picture and her eyes widened. "They're theta brain waves."

"Is that possible?"

"Not unless he's about to be asleep. It's strange, so I asked her to take the tests every day since the day of the interrogation," she lined up the three pictures from the first day to that day. "The first two are theta waves but look at this," she tapped at the third picture, "Delta brain waves."

Shizune stared down at the pictures confused, "Was he asleep?"

"No, in fact, I had sent him on a mission before that scan, he shouldn't have been asleep. The nurse took notes on his actions, according to her he was fully there and awake."

Shizune looked at the Hokage with worry, "Could he be in a genjutsu?"

"I don't know. If he is then this is a very strange genjutsu, one I've never seen before. But the fact that he's conscious to our eyes and this scan shows delta waves… It's strange."

"What are you planning on doing then, Tsunade-sama?"

She stared intently at the pictures on her desk, "Shizune, get Gai and his team here, quickly!"

Shizune jumped up, "R-right, Tsunade-sama, but why?"

Tsunade gave her a look that meant no questions asked and the assistant ran out the room. Tonton stared at the Hokage and she bent down to pick up the pink animal. She stood and continued to look out her window.

"Just what the hell are you planning Madara?" she asked out loud to the empty room.

* * *

Hinata blinked at Kakashi. Her eyes were blank and her throat formed a huge knot. Her head started throbbing and she clutched at it. Sakura went to her side, "Are you alright? You should go and lie down." Hinata shook her head, "I'm fine, Sakura-san."

Sakura pulled back and stared at the girl with worry, "You shouldn't push yourself. It's alright if you can't remember."

After the pain started fading she opened her eyes and looked back at the masked ninja, "I-I don't remember."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask at the girl, "That's fine. It'll come to you. Do you remember anything that happened before?"

Hinata mulled it over and then a string of images went through her mind. A grotesque face, a pool of blood, her father, dead bodies sprawled before her, Naruto starring at her with lifeless eyes and then they were gone just as fast as they had come. She opened her mouth to say something but then shook her head no slowly.

She didn't want to relive those images.

Kakashi sighed, "That's alright. You should go and rest. We'll be docking soon." Hinata nodded and Sakura helped her up to walk back to the room. After she helped Hinata into her bed she walked back to the group and sat down on the crate the blue haired girl was sitting on before. She let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad she's alright," she whispered.

Kiba nodded, "Me too. I thought she was a goner for sure."

"I told you to shut up, Kiba," Naruto said clenching his fists. Kiba glared at him but before he could say anything the blonde ninja pulled off the railing and made his way below deck where their rooms were. The ninken specialist turned to the girl next to him, "What's his problem?"

Sakura stared at the place where Naruto was standing just a few moments ago. "He thinks it's his fault," she said. "He thinks Hinata's close death was his entire fault."  _Typical Naruto,_  she thought.  _Always putting all the blame on his shoulders._

Kiba shook his head, "I'll go put some sense into him. Come on, Akamaru!" Sakura lifted her hand to stop him but then Kakashi just shook his head at her.

"Let him go."

She stared at him for a long moment before nodding. Kakashi took out his book and began to walk away before stopping again. He turned his head slightly to her, "Don't worry about Naruto, Sakura. He'll come around again."

She just looked back down at her hands. Then it hit her. She could use this to her advantage. It was perfect. She could use this to get Naruto and Hinata closer together. She smiled at her brilliantness. Now she just had to think of how she would go about this. She'd need help, she looked around the ship. Only Kakashi was above deck, Naruto and Kiba were below. Hinata was in the prince's room and the prince and his attendants were in the servant quarters. She wanted to ask Kiba but he was talking with Naruto.

Kakashi probably wouldn't approve and the prince would only get in the way. She stared straight ahead at the door that led to where the prince was. She was sure everyone was thankful for him. If it wasn't for him Hinata probably wouldn't have made it. She stared down at her hands, her medical ninjutsu didn't work on Hinata, her pulse had stopped completely. She was gone no matter how hard she tried.

_But the prince's jutsu did work. It saved her life,_ she thought.  _But it took a giant toll on his body._  After he performed his jutsu on the blue haired Hyūga he had almost passed out from fatigue. His attendants quickly ushered him into their quarters where he was resting right now. Sakura had never seen such a jutsu like that before. She had never even heard of it.

During her training with the Fifth Hokage she had read so many medical books and studied so many medical jutsus but she had never even heard of one that could bring back a person right after their pulse and chakra circulation stopped. It was a miracle jutsu.

A loud thump made her look up from her thoughts. They were approaching tall gray rocks that were pointed at the very top. A thick fog was beginning to grow around the boat. On instinct she pulled out a kunai knife and ran towards where the prince was resting. She pushed her legs to go as fast as they could only to trip on something, a body.

She lifted herself up to look at the body that had fallen before her, it was Kakashi's. She didn't have time to focus on her fallen comrade, she had to protect the prince at all cost. It meant the world. She looked around, senses heightened, to sense the enemies presence. Her back was against the door and her kunai was pointed in ready position. Something began to move in the thick fog she squinted and the figure moved closer slowly. Her kunai shook in her hand before falling to the ground, making a loud cling that echoed in the air. Her eyes widened and her heart was pumping faster as the figure became more and more clear.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I post on this website so please hold on as I go through the mood of suspense! I look forward to writing for Naruto and Hinata and hope you guys don't get too bored and like the story as much I do!  
> Any form of feedback would be greatly appreciated (plus it always keeps people writing when they're feeling they're not good enough) Constructive criticism is always warranted as well just don't be a bully about it!  
> Okay, until next time, guys!


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